This invention relates to liquid soap formulations constructed for being. dispensed as a foam product and, more particularly, to improved liquid formulations capable of being dispensed as a foam product for.use in a wide variety of alternate applications, including for washing, shaving and use for medicinal or medical purposes.
Recently, the use of liquid soap has become extremely popular, with the ease and convenience provided by such products being appreciated by many individuals. However, in spite of the popularity of liquid soap, no widely useable, multi-purpose, effective liquid soap product has been developed which is capable of being dispensed as a foam mousse product to provide consumers with the substantially increased benefits inherent in a foam mousse and be useable for shaving and medical applications.
By providing an improved liquid soap formulation which are capable of being dispensed from a desired container as a foam mousse, consumers enjoy a wide variety of substantially enhanced benefits. In using any soap product, whether liquid or solid, the consumer is required to place a desired amount of the soap product in one""s hands or on the area to be washed, and then vigorously rub the soap product in the hands or target site in order to develop a lather or foam, in order to achieve the desired cleaning. However, by dispensing the improved liquid soap product as a foam mousse directly from the container, ease of application and use of the product is enhanced.
A further benefit achieved from dispensing liquid soap as a foam mousse is a substantial reduction in the quantity of the product that must be dispensed at any particular time for any desired purpose. The foam mousse is produced by intermixing air into the soap formulations to produce the foam mousse product being dispensed. As a result, substantially less product is consumed at any particular time, thereby saving the consumer a substantial expense by controlling the amount of product being dispensed and thereby preventing unwanted wasting of product.
Another area in which consumer needs and desires have not been satisfied is in the area of shaving for both men and women. Although various shaving creams and foams have been created in attempting to provide a smooth, comfortable shave to men and women, manufacturers have typically resorted to producing shaving foams which rely upon aerosols or other foam producing gases.
Although these typical prior art products produce foams of various thicknesses and densities, these prior art products are incapable of achieving a product which is completely devoid of aerosols or other foaming agents or ingredients. Furthermore, such prior art products are bulky and require large containers or dispensers, as well as special pressurized gas holding systems, in order to accommodate the required aerosols for producing the foam.
Another area in which no effective prior art products have been developed is the medical area wherein numerous applications for a foam soap product exist with no solution being provided. Furthermore, in most of these areas, medicinal or therapeutic ingredients incorporated into the foam soap product would greatly enhance their use. However, no prior art product has been made which is capable of meeting this long-felt need. Some specific uses for a product of this nature are diseases and irritations in the vagina and/or the rectum where numerous problems exist that have been largely ignored. Although a long felt need has existed in these areas for safe and effective products, no prior art product has been achieved which is readily available and highly effective in treating or eliminating such diseases and problems.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a multi-purpose, highly effective, liquid foam soap delivery system which is capable of being used in a wide variety of alternate product formulations and delivery systems.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multi-purpose, highly effective, liquid foam soap delivery system having the characteristic features described above, which is capable of being dispensed from non-aerosol containers and produces a thick, rich, dense, foam mousse.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multi-purpose, highly effective, liquid foam soap delivery system having the characteristic features described above, which incorporates an effective amount of a medical or medicinal ingredient for further enhancing the use and application of the present invention in a wide variety of alternate purposes.
Other and more specific objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
By employing the present invention, all of the difficulties and drawbacks of the prior art have been overcome, and a highly effective, multi-purpose, universally applicable improved liquid based foam soap delivery system is achieved. In addition to attaining a universally useable, liquid based foam soap product, the present invention achieves an improved liquid based foam soap system that can be employed for all normal washing, as well as for shaving and for use as a device in treating a wide variety of medical conditions and problems.
The principal feature of-the present invention is the attainment of an improved liquid based soap formulation which is capable of being employed with and dispensed from non-aerosol, foam-producing containers in a consistent and repeatable manner. Typically, conventional liquid soap formulations are incapable of repeatedly passing through the foam producing dispensing heads associated with foam containers/dispensers. Due to the inherent nature of conventional liquid soap, the fine mesh screens employed with foam heads are quickly clogged, preventing the effective, reliable use of conventional liquid soap in this manner.
With the present invention, a unique improved liquid soap formulation is realized which eliminates the prior art inabilities and provides a formulation which is effectively dispensed from foam producing dispensing heads in a consistent, reliable and repeatable manner, free from clogging failures. In accordance with the present invention, the principal ingredients are a mixture of surfactants, which inherently possess foam enhancing or foam producing qualities, and water with the quantity of water employed representing a critical factor. In order to achieve a formulation which is capable of being dispensed as a foam mousse, the total water employed must range between about 40% and 80% by weight of the total weight of the entire composition.
An additional ingredient which is preferably incorporated into the liquid foaming soap formulations of the present invention comprises one or more therapeutic agents. As is more fully detailed below, by incorporating a therapeutic agent, the present invention achieves a unique, universally employable, foam mousse product which is capable of being used in a wide-variety of alternate applications for a wide variety of alternate purposes. In this regard, the presence of a therapeutic agent in the liquid foam soap formulation substantially enhances the usability and applicability of the liquid foam soap product, while also providing substantially enhanced beneficial results in areas where beneficial results have not been attainable.
In accordance with the present invention, it has been found that the quantity of the surfactants employed in the composition preferably ranges between about 5% and 70% by weight based upon the total weight of the entire composition.
The final ingredient incorporated into the improved liquid based foaming soap composition of the present invention is one or more therapeutic agents, used to achieve a desired, targeted or multi-functional result. In employing a therapeutic agent, the effective amount needed to achieve the desired result is employed.
In Table I, the overall composition discussed above is fully detailed. This composition represents the preferred formulation for achieving the goals of the present invention.
In carrying out the teaching of the present invention, it has been found that one or more surfactants are preferably employed, with the surfactants being selected from the group consisting of polysorbate 20, cocoamide DEA, polysorbate 60, polysorbate 80, ammonium or alkaline salts of sulfated aliphatic alcohols, ammonium or alkaline salts of sulfated aliphatic ethoxylated alcohols, cocoamido derivatives and ethoxylated aliphatic phenolics.
By employing formulations made in accordance with the foregoing teaching, it has been found that a highly effective, multi-purpose liquid based foaming soap product is achieved. One of the principal features of this formulation is that the pH resulting from this composition is relatively mild for most uses. However, if desired, the pH is easily adjusted to range between about 7.0 and 7.6. As a result, virtual neutrality is attainable and the liquid foaming soap product is comfortable for virtually any use or application.
In the preferred embodiment, the improved, multi-purpose liquid foaming soap formulation of the present invention comprises an effective amount of a therapeutic agent. Typically, the therapeutic agent comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of antiseptic agents, anti-bacterial agents, anti-microbial agents, anti-viral agents, medicines, anti-inflammatory agents, anesthetics, analgesics, and anti-itch agents. Depending upon the particular use desired, one or more therapeutic agents are added to the composition in order to provide the desired enhanced result.
Although the therapeutic agent employed in the liquid foaming soap composition of the present invention may be selected from a broad category of therapeutic compounds which provide the desired functions detailed above, the following agents comprise a representative sample of the type of agents that has been found to be highly effective in achieving the goals of the present invention. This sample of therapeutic agents comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of triclosan, spirulina, calcium spiruline, nonoxynol-9, benzocaine, lidocaine, silver nitrate solutions, lidocaine-hydrochloride, iodine, povodone-iodine, and hot water solutions of spirulan. As detailed below, each of these therapeutic agents provides a particular target area or desirable function for enabling the improved liquid foaming soap composition of the present invention to be used to attain results previously thought to be unattainable.
One product area which typifies a composition of the present invention is the creation of an antiseptic, anti-bacterial, or anti-microbial liquid based foaming soap for general, everyday use, and/or for application wherein an antiseptic or anti-bacterial soap is desired. In order to attain a product of this nature, it has been found that by incorporating triclosan as the therapeutic agent, a highly effective anti-bacterial, antiseptic and/or anti-microbial liquid based foaming soap product is realized. In addition, by adding nonoxynol-9 as the therapeutic agent, an anti-viral formation is attained to be used for medicinal or medical purposes in hospitals, nursing homes, and elderly housing for use when water is not available, or for general cleanliness. Furthermore, it has also been found that the use of an aqueous solution of silver nitrate as the therapeutic agent creates a formulation which can be employed for treating burn victims.
In Table II, a preferred formulation for using triclosan in the liquid foaming soap product of the present invention is detailed, while Table III provides a more detailed formulation, with the specific ingredients for all functions being provided. In formulating this product, the established effective amount of triclosan ranges between about 0.2% and 2.0% by weight based upon the total weight of the composition.
In achieving an effective, useable and desirable anti-bacterial/antiseptic liquid foaming soap product which employs triclosan, it has been found that polysorbate 20 is preferably employed as a surfactant in order to allow the triclosan to be dissolved in the aqueous solution. Since triclosan is not water soluble, an agent is required to dissolve the triclosan into the solution. Although polysorbate 20 is preferred for this purpose, another equally effective agent may also be used.
In addition, it has also been discovered that the quantity of cocoamide DEA employed in the composition preferably ranges between about 3% and 30% of the quantity employed for the ammonium lauryl sulfate. By employing these parameters, a highly effective, multi-purpose, antiseptic/anti-bacterial liquid foaming soap product is achieved.
In addition to achieving an effective antiseptic/anti-bacterial liquid foaming soap composition, the foregoing composition also possesses a pH of about 6.5 to 8.0. This result is attained by employing the ingredients such as citric acid or equivalent, in the quantities detailed above, along with a small quantity of one or more pH adjusting agents which are well known to those skilled in this art.
Other areas which greatly benefit from the attainment of a liquid based foaming soap composition which incorporates a therapeutic agent are found in a wide variety of medical or medicinal applications. In this regard, various diseases which are caused by viruses have been virtually ignored by prior art products due to the inability of these prior art products to deliver an effective anti-microbial or anti-viral composition directly to the problem site.
The two areas where problems had continuously plagued the medical field and have gone unsolved are found with the diseases and/or irritations which affect the vagina and/or the rectum such as chlamydia or gonorrhea. However, by employing the present invention, these problem areas are quickly and easily resolved.
It has been found that by incorporating an effective amount of an anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-itch, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anesthetic, and or analgesic therapeutic agent in the liquid based foaming soap composition of the present invention, a safe and highly effective treatment system is realized for treating various anatomical problems, particularly vaginal and rectal diseases and irritations. In this regard, therapeutic agents such as triclosan, nonoxynol-9, and other equivalent anti-viral or anti-bacterial compositions, can be employed in the liquid foaming soap formulations of the present invention to produce a resulting product capable of resolving problems that have been unresolved for long time periods.
By employing the compositions detailed above for attaining an anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and/or anti-microbial liquid foaming soap product, a safe, and effective delivery system is realized for enabling any individual or healthcare provider to quickly, easily, and conveniently apply a soap product directly to areas which are otherwise incapable of being easily accessed, with complete assurance that both cleaning and anti-viral medication is simultaneously delivered precisely to the site where needed. As a result, by employing the present invention, areas of the body are capable of been effectively treated where presently no effective treatment is available.
It is our intent to take advantage of the well-known phenomena caused by surface active agents on cohesion and surface tension to make use of the foam mousse product as a medical device when used with a formulation composed of an anti-bacterial or anti-viral drug and in some cases a combination of the two. The anti-bacterial foam soap composition that includes Triclosan in the formulation has been produced and has been found to help eliminate bladder infection in women caused by improper or negligent habits when using the toilet.
The pH of the anti-bacterial soap formula had to be lowered to 7 in order to accommodate any tender skin areas. A small amount of the foam mousse interspersed with triclosan or other anti-bacterial, or the anti-viral agent, such as nonoxynol-9, when applied onto toilet tissue to the rectum and vaginal area, helps in reducing the chance for this type of bladder infection. The foam mousse dries rapidly and the film of soap is gentle and does not cause any irritation. The film can be removed by simply wetting toilet tissue after 30 seconds if necessary. The foam mousse is packagable in a pocketbook size three ounce foamer.
There are many other areas in which the anti-bacterial/anti-viral foam soap compositions of this invention can be used as a medical device such as within a hospital setting, the workplace, in the home, the armed services, or any other event that an open wound of any size is a possibility. In a hospital or surgical setting, protection from viral or bacterial infections is a priority. With the use of a foamer and the proper antiseptic foam, a protective skin is produced that should protect the cells surrounding the wound from infection. It follows that the same protective event will follow in any location where an open wound or cut has happened.
As a prophylactic, the foamer when used by either the female and the male, should enhance protection against the spread of diseases. The female sprays nonoxynol-9, or other proven anti-AID""s drug, deep into the vagina or rectum in the case of males. The second barrier would be set up by the male wetting the penis with water and then using the same foam spread around the penis. The formulation is slippery enough to act as a lubricant to enhance the ease of the sexual act.
In a further area, the foam mousse is well suited for burn patients, since it lays down a layer of medicant easily and without irritation. Povidone iodine complex (10% active) or a silver nitrate solution (0.5% active) are excellent antiseptics for burn patients. Povidone iodine and silver nitrate are water based solutions to be sprayed or placed over the affected area without any rubbing. By employing the present invention, the active therapeutic agent is slowly released onto the skin, providing or assisting in the healing process. As with all burn patients, bandages should not be placed over the affected area.
In order to attain the desired foam mousse from the liquid foaming soap composition of the present invention, non-aerosol, unpressurized, foam delivery dispensers known in the art are employed. These dispensers typically comprise a movable, finger-operated dispensing head or cap mounted to a container in which the improved liquid soap composition of the present invention is retained. The movable, finger operated dispensing head/cap is constructed to draw the liquid foaming soap composition from the container into the cap and force the composition through various screens while intermixing air therewith to produce a dispensed product which comprises a foam mousse.
In an alternate configuration, the prior art foam delivery dispenser comprises a soft pliable bottle in combination with a dispensing cap/head structure which allows the user to squeeze the soft pliable bottle to force the composition in the container to pass through the cap and deliver the desired foam mousse product. Regardless of which structure is employed, the resulting foam mousse product is substantially equivalent and can be employed with equal efficacy in the present invention.
In most applications employing the present invention, the liquid foaming soap composition defined herein is retained in a container incorporating the movable, finger-operated dispensing head/cap. In this way, the desired foam mousse product is quickly and easily dispensed into one""s hand for use and application directly to the hands or to any other desired site or location.
Alternatively, in those applications where delivery directly into cavities, such as the vagina or the rectum are desired, the squeeze bottle construction is preferred. In addition a soft, pliable, elongated tube or nozzle is mounted to the cap, to enable the foam mousse product to be delivered directly in the particular cavity at the precise location of the inflammation or virus being treated. In this way, direct application is realized with ease and efficiency.
A further area in which it has been found that the present invention is highly effective in providing a therapeutic treatment system, which presently does not exist, is in treating or reducing the transmission of viral diseases, such as AIDS, herpes, and chlamydia. By employing the present invention with a suitable therapeutic agent incorporated therein, a prophylactic treatment system is realized for helping to prevent the transmission of these viral diseases.
In order to attain an effective anti-viral treatment system employing the liquid foaming soap composition of the present invention, it has been found that the therapeutic agent incorporated into the composition is preferably selected from the group consisting of spirulina, calcium-spirulan, nonoxynol-9, and hot water solution of spirulan. These compounds, along with other compounds being developed having equal efficacy, can be employed in the present invention in order to provide the desired prophylactic results.
Recently, it has been found that these compounds are capable of inhibiting viral replication, while strengthening both the cellular and hormonal arms of the immune system, causing regression and inhibition of various diseases. As a result, these compounds, and their equivalents, provide effective therapeutic agents for being incorporated in the liquid foaming soap composition of the present invention in order to provide an easily used, highly effective medicinal delivery system for helping to reduce transmission of viral diseases such as AIDS, herpes, chlamydia and gonorrhea.
Another area in which the present invention has proven to be highly effective is in the use of the liquid foamed soap product for shaving. In attempting to satisfy consumer demand for a wet or dry shaving cream which will provide a smooth, comfortable shave to both men and women, manufacturers have typically produced shaving foams which rely upon aerosols or other foam producing gases. Although these typical prior art products produce foams of various thicknesses and density, these prior art products have not been able to achieve a natural product, which is completely free from aerosols or other foaming agents or ingredients. Furthermore, such prior art products are bulky and require large containers or dispensers, as well as special pressurized gas holding systems, due to the use of aerosols for producing the foamed product.
By employing the liquid foaming soap formulation of the present invention, all of the prior art difficulties and drawbacks are eliminated and a natural, liquid foaming soap product is attained which is free of any aerosol or gaseous foaming member or foam producing agent/ingredient. Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the entire dispensing system comprises a small, compact, non-pressurized container, within which the liquid foaming soap formulation of the present invention is retained, along with a foam producing dispensing valve/head or cap.
In accordance with the present invention, a unique liquid foaming soap formulation is realized which provides a soap product capable of being dispensed as a foamed mousse, having the thickness and density required for providing a smooth comfortable shave for all beards, legs, underarms, and any other desired areas to be shaved. In addition, the formulations of the present invention may comprise all natural ingredients while enabling women to shave their legs without water.
Due to the thickness and density achieved by the foam mousse produced by the present invention, the shaving foam product of this invention retains its moisture while on the surface to be shaved. In addition, the shaving mousse of this invention produces an inherent low friction, gliding surface over which a razor comfortably passes while cutting the desired beard or hair fibers. In addition, it has been found that the shaving mousse substantially increases the ability of causing hair or whiskers to become erect, further enhancing and improving the closeness of the shave. As a result, shaving of any desired area is achieved with a high comfort level, while also assuring close cutting of all hair folicals. Furthermore, due to these highly desirable characteristics, even sensitive skin is able to enjoy a close and comfortable shave, virtually devoid of any irritation or discomfort.
Furthermore, in using the present invention with a dry shaver, only a small amount of the foam mousse product is employed to attain the desired results. Once a small quantity of mousses is spread over the face of the user, a close and comfortable shave is realized.
In order to attain the desirable and previously unrealized results provided by the present invention, the shaving mousse of the present invention is achieved by combining a low viscosity or liquified soap in combination with a suitable dispenser. In accordance with this invention, a conventional container is employed which incorporates a valve or dispensing cap capable of receiving the liquified soap, and delivering a foamed shaving mousse. In this way, all of the prior art inabilities are completely eliminated and a unique, compact, foam shaving formulation and delivery system is attained.
The invention accordingly comprises a composition of matter possessing the characteristics, properties, and the relation of constituents which will be exemplified in the compositions hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.